Market Transparency

Do you know how much energy your office building uses?
How about your neighbor’s?
Most people don’t, although a growing number of cities and states are adopting ordinances to make this information more transparent.

Benchmarking and disclosure laws make energy use transparent by requiring public and large commercial buildings to benchmark their energy performance, typically through ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager, and publicly disclose that information.
This public disclosure encourages building owners with low energy scores to upgrade their buildings to remain competitive in the marketplace.

Energy service companies in New York City and San Francisco have reported a 30% increase in energy efficiency projects after benchmarking and disclosure laws were put in place.1
In California, 62% of building owners that benchmarked their properties invested in energy-efficiency improvements, while 84% either had already or planned on improving their energy performance after benchmarking.2

NEMA supports benchmarking and disclosure ordinances because they increase adoption of energy-saving technologies and support manufacturing jobs right here in the United States.
We applaud cities like Austin, Boston, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., as well as states like California and Washington for adopting benchmarking legislation, and we encourage all other cities and states to do the same.